Do you believe in love at first sight? Apparently, a majority of American do. But let’s hope they fall in love at first sight with someone they saw in person, rather than falling in love with someone’s re-touched photos on Tinder.
According to a new study of 2,700 people by dating site EliteSingles, 72% believe in it! It also found that “Millenials are far more likely to believe in love at first sight than those over 40.” Who knew?
Syracuse University professor Dr. Stephanie Ortigue’s research found that “the “power of love” can be felt after 0.2 seconds after visual contact with someone.” This happens when the twelve areas of your brain work together to release euphoria inducing chemicals (such as dopamine, oxytocin, adrenaline) and subsequently produce the feeling of love at first sight. Chemically speaking, she found that it is certainly possible.
According to Charlotte Bridge of EliteSingles, “We also discovered that millennials are the most romantic of them all with a whopping 84% of 18-29 year olds surveyed vouching for love at first sight.” And dudes even more so! 72% of American men believed in love at first site compared with 61% of women.
The survey found that the most skeptical group surveyed were women between the ages of 30-39 with only 56% of them considering love at first sight a reality. New Yorkers were the most skeptical with 73% of men believing in it, compared to just 59% of women. As a New Yorker myself I can tell you why: we are a cynical bunch, and besides, there are so many people in NYC that you see on a daily basis that you can’t fall in love with everyone!
Here are the findings of the study:
- 72% of American men believe in love at first sight, compared to just 61% of women.
- 81% of men aged 18-29 believe in love at first sight.
- 84% of Americans aged 18-29 believe in love at first sight.
- 90% of women aged 18-29 believe in love at first sight, compared to 56% of women aged 30-39 who think the same.
- 73% of men from New York believe in love at first sight, compared to 59% of New York women
EliteSingles says they are a “serious online dating sector.” (As opposed to hook-up sites where the guy ghosts you after a one-nighter.) They told us they “connect single professionals who are looking for meaningful and long-lasting relationships.” So for anyone is is having dates with the “Tinder Player”, who is on Tinder while he/she is on a date with you, it’s something new to try. Unless you just want to take your chances and fall in love at first site.
One of the nicest things to come out of the survey says Bridge, was that “95% of Americans believe you can fall in love at any age and haven’t stopped believing in it despite experiencing heartbreak and divorce. It would seem then, that there’s no reason to suppose that love at first doesn’t exist but perhaps one needs to be open to it to experience it themselves.”
